The Conditional Tokens Framework is the on-chain standard Polymarket uses to represent outcome shares. It allows $1.00 of collateral to be split into a complete set of outcome tokens, and a complete set to be merged back into $1.00 — which is what enforces the arithmetic relationship between prices.
Split and merge are the operations that make the complement invariant real rather than merely conventional: anyone can always create or destroy a full set at exactly $1.00, so a sustained deviation from that sum is an arbitrage anyone can take.
Expecting outcome tokens to behave like ERC-20 balances. They are ERC-1155 positions keyed by condition and outcome, so tooling written for plain fungible tokens will not find them.
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